The word "church" means different things to different people.  For traditional Christians it means a building, but it's beginning to take on a new meaning.  Church doesn't mean a place, but more of a broad feeling associated with the place.    It's not usually thoughts of the building that you take with you during the week, but the people, the generosity, and the feeling of meeting God in a place are what really stick. 

Church used to mean an uncomfortable pew and holding still while my dad preached, but recently I've been imagining what "church" would be to me if I could design it myself!

Tell me what YOU would like to see or feel in church and I'll post later about what's on my mind!

Leave a comment about something like:

What factors to you make a perfect church

Have you had an experience at a church that was really unique and good?

What's your dream church like?

 Looking forward to hearing your brilliant thoughts!

I recently took a cross-country flight, and after finishing a book I'd been working on for months, I found my self people-watching.  It used to be one of my favorite things to do in malls and airports, but once the kids came along . . . let's just say  that wasn't a luxury I could afford.

In the relative quiet and pseudo-solitude, I let my imagination wander into the lives of the strangers around me.  What kind of mother is she?  What type of business does he do?  Is he usually this grouchy?  What is she so tense about?  I wonder why the lady next to me isn't interested in small talk? 

BeZao.com: Tell us a little about yourself and how you ended up in Uganda?

It's an easy thing to pray. Only a short few minutes of our day, asking, talking, sharing, praising Him who gives us so much.

So, today, I'm asking that you'll pray especially for someone close to our hearts here at beZao. Larisa & Matt are co-founders of Kirabo Foundation and over the course of the past 8 years, has adopted 5 children from Uganda. Levi, their youngest & newest son has required a heart surgery since birth, and on February 11, he officially & legally joined their family and headed to the hospital for preparations. Here is an excerpt from their blog.

By Faith...that is the way that Christ has asked us to live this Christian life.

Faith, the opposite of fear, is moving beyond your feelings, stepping out into the unknown, trusting that your foot will land on the solid Rock of Christ.

I'm never one to complain about snow. In my book, there is never enough on the ground. Winter is one of my favorite times of the year. It does have the draw back that you don't get to see your neighbor's much. Well, most winters at least.

This year we have had record snowfall. We currently have a little over 2 feet on the ground and most of that fell in the last 3 weeks.

While most of the time in the north country, people tend to stay indoors during the winter, (at least in our neighborhood) when we got our big dump of 14 inches of snow in 24 hours, people had to get out and shovel. So after the snow stopped falling, we headed out to shovel and dig each other out. I think on that one day, we met more neighbors then I have in the 4 years of living here. We met people that we never see.

I live in a big city with a large university and medical
center where people from all over the nation and the world come to "earn wisdom
and stature" before moving on. The nature
of the community is somewhat transient, which allows for some unique
elements. Conversations are always
bracing, friendships are diverse, and new thoughts and ideas are endless. I must admit, I love it! My church experience has been a bit less
thrilling. This town is large and spread
out, and our local church is not really central to anyone. Busy work and school schedules and travel distance
seem to prevent some of the “normal” things you might see in a medium sized
church from occurring.

If you are the single type, looking for another "just right" type out there, you may have tried this or this, in an effort to meet Mr. or Ms. Right.

I have another suggestion for you. Why not try this?

Over the past few months, Wendy, our blogger living in Palawan Philippines became friends with a young pilot who came to the island to serve the community and the clinic there in her village. Over the course of several months, their friendship grew into more, and they are now engaged.

Uganda is a poverty stricken country in Eastern Africa where public school doesn't exist, and if one wants to be educated, the $100-300 cost per term is nearly impossible to afford on a $300 annual income. If you're an orphan, as 2.4 million Ugandan children are, it's an unattainable dream.

Thankfully, my friends Mindy & Larisa created a foundation to sponsor HIV/AIDS orphans across Uganda. Kirabo Foundation. The education of students involved in the program is partially or fully provided along with simple school supplies and sometimes uniforms. They are sponsoring children of all ages from Primary through Secondary school.

It's a very small organization so almost 100% of your contributions go directly to the students!

Our beautiful student Esther A. 's picture is proudly displayed on our refridgerator and the kids pray for her daily. For only a few dollars every semester, we've been able to reach across the globe and share Christ's love with our favorite 2nd grader!

It was cold and they still had so many miles to go. 

Holiday traffic was killer, and the kids weren't that cheerful anymore. 

Just a quick stop to get some snacks and stretch. 

Everyone else was loaded back in the Suburban, but she was the last. 

Cold biting wind made her turn away, and that was how she saw him. 

Curled near the door.  Disheveled.  Covered in loneliness.

Only a few steps from the car now, she turned back and went inside.  

 A minute later she returned to the cold with a brown bag.  

 "I dont' know if you realize it, but today is Christmas.  I don't know if you have a family or someone who's looking for you right now.  But I just thought you should know that Someone does care.  I got you some beer because I figured that's what you'd want!  Merry Christmas."

 She got in her waiting car, kids full of questions, and drove on.  

I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.  Matthew 25:35

Just read a thoughtful blog over here. Julie Smith had some really beautiful ideas about passionate inquiry into our spiritual goals for the New Year.

Read.

Re-evaluate.

Resolve.

Renew.

I know her questions have given me reason to delve deeper into my true aspirations for t his coming year.

During a fantastic wind storm a few weeks ago, one of our pine trees nearly crushed the kid's playhouse in our backyard, and my unwanted Christmas gift came a few days early, when we hired a well-paid lumberjack to carefully get the tree on the ground without damaging anything in it's wake! Thankfully, it came down perfectly and left us with more firewood than you can shake a stick at!

Amanda is a girl I came across after reading about an ESL class she was teaching in her community. She's also involved in a downtown community garden with some other students. Amanda is a full time college student, getting ready to graduate, but she wanted to share something of herself with others. She's pretty bold, I have to say.

BZ: Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where are you from?

I'm from all over, I guess. My parents live in Kentucky, but they moved there after I came to college, so I can't really claim it. I moved about 9 times growing up, so I don't have strong roots anywhere. Right now, I guess I'm from Tennessee :)

BZ: What do you do in your "free" time?

My first reaction is to say that I don't have "free" time but I guess I technically do. I just fill it with things! If I'm not in class or at work, I'm doing homework or talking to people. People are my hobby, I guess. I also like reading, playing music, and hiking, but I don't do those things as much as I'd like :)

So, it's the beginning of this idea that began with a conversation between a brother and a sister many months ago.  Although we live on opposite sides of the country, we found ourselves connecting over something that we couldn't quite put into words.  The questions kept popping up . . .

• what is our mission as a Christian?
• how would you define this mission in a way that makes sense to my generation?
• seriously, what does it mean to live as a Christ follower?
• how can I reach out to my community in a relevant way?
• does "sharing Christ" have to mean verbalizing His name?
• don't actions speak louder than words?
• how's this t-shirt  method really working?

. . . but the answers weren't that obvious.  Web searches came up with some vague ideas, but nothing concrete.